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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188284">One Crutch in Front of the Other</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/darter/pseuds/darter'>darter</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Avatar: The Last Airbender</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>AU, Angst and Hurt/Comfort, Ba Sing Se, Gen, Hakoda (Avatar) is a Good Parent, Hurt Sokka (Avatar), Kidnapping, Non Bender Prejudice, Non Benders (Avatar), Post-War, The Jasmine Dragon (Avatar), Torture, Violence, but i didnt include it in the tags bc it isnt a major theme, but nothing crazy, injuries, just side characters i promise, slightly dark themes, sokka and suki as well as aang and katara are together in this</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-10-25</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2020-10-29</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-18 07:56:06</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Mature</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>Graphic Depictions Of Violence</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>2</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>6,479</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/27188284</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/darter/pseuds/darter</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>Two weeks ago, the Fire Nation lost the war. After a year of running and fighting, the gang would like nothing more than to finally rest.</p><p>They don't get to, obviously.</p><p>While investigating a string of kidnappings, they realize that the war had been overshadowing some dark prejudices. The world is tense from 100 years of war, but another war threatens to destroy the nations from the inside.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Sokka &amp; The Gaang (Avatar)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>6</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>34</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Chapter 1</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
      <p>Oh boy. This is my first Avatar fanfic and I really wanna do it justice. Hope you enjoy!</p><p>BTW, when I first thought of this fic idea, I did not know that the comics even existed (I've only recently gotten into ATLA if you haven't noticed). After reading the comics though, I realize that my idea is somewhat similar with the storyline of one of them, so uh...whoops? Honestly had no clue lol</p>
    </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>After being on the run for an entire year, it seemed strange to wake up and not have to worry if you were surrounded by soldiers. Then again, Sokka didn’t miss waking up surrounded by soldiers, but it was indeed a drastic change.</p>
<p>Instead, he woke up in a cozy room in Ba Sing Se, free from the burden of fire nation soldiers, save those that Zuko routinely sent to check on the house that they were currently staying in.</p>
<p>Like most days for the past two weeks, Sokka woke up to an empty house. Well, empty plus Katara. She had put her older brother on house arrest while his leg was healing. The first few days, she had actually left him alone, but once she found out he had been sneaking out to go on walks around the garden, she had started to stay home to make sure he didn’t make any more escape attempts. </p>
<p>“You know I don’t need a babysitter, right?” he grumbled as he hobbled into the living area, his crutch lightly tapping against the ground. </p>
<p>“That’s what I thought until I found out <em>someone </em>was sneaking out of the house when no one was around, despite specific instructions to not do that.”</p>
<p>Sokka scoffed. “See, that was your mistake though. You knew I wouldn’t stay in the house.” His sister sighed.</p>
<p>“Which is exactly why you need a babysitter.”</p>
<p>Sokka hummed as he made his way to the table where he had left his stacks of papers. Most of his time on house arrest had been spent on drawings, writings, and making up plans for nothing specific. He created different scenarios in his head and tried to come up with the best plan to solve it.</p>
<p>Idea Guy had to do something to occupy his time, after all.</p>
<p>“So what’s on the agenda today?” he asked. </p>
<p>Katara shrugged. “Nothing really, I suppose. Dad has another meeting with Zuko, Iroh and the Earth Kingdom officials. They’ll be there the whole day.”</p>
<p>“What about Toph, Aang and Suki?”</p>
<p>“Toph and Suki left together, but they never said where they were going. Aang was also going to the meeting today, but he won’t be there the whole time,” Katara explained. </p>
<p>“And me?”</p>
<p>Katara chuckled. “You, sir, will be doing nothing.”</p>
<p>Sokka groaned. Two weeks had gone by and his leg hadn’t shown any signs of improvement yet. Katara had explained to him that, while the breaks were clean (all three of them!), the bones had damaged some of the surrounding muscles and tissue. </p>
<p>As he scribbled away on his paper, he accidentally let his foot brush against the ground. His sharp intake of breath alerted Katara’s attention back to him.</p>
<p>“How’s your leg?”</p>
<p>“Eh, ya know, broken,” he deadpanned. At Katara’s disapproving glare, he sighed. “It’s still hurting, but it’s fine.” </p>
<p>“I want to try to heal it. At least one more time-”</p>
<p>“Katara, you’ve tried already. It’s okay, I promise.”</p>
<p>His sister was relentless in trying to heal his broken leg. When she first saw him after Ozai had been defeated, she had rushed to his side immediately, placing her healing hands over his wrapped leg. She asked if it felt any better, to which Sokka quickly replied “no.” </p>
<p>Katara, however, was not one to give up easily.</p>
<p>On their way to the fire palace, she had tried again. Her efforts yielded the same results. </p>
<p>When they returned to Ba Sing Se she tried yet again. When her healing again provided no results, she was devastated. </p>
<p>“It’s no big deal, Katara. It’s not life threatening or anything. I promise you it’s okay,” Sokka told her after her third attempt. It did little to console her, of course. </p>
<p>Even the greatest healer couldn’t mend broken bones, it turned out.</p>
<p>Despite having tried three times already, Katara was yet again attempting to heal her brother’s wound. </p>
<p>“I know, I know. I just,” her eyes fell to the ground. “I want to be able to help you. I was able to heal everyone else. Zuko, Aang, but I can’t do anything for you and it’s not fair-”</p>
<p>Sokka was quick to cut her off at this point. “Don’t sell yourself short, Katara. What you did for Aang and Zuko was incredible. Don’t get down on yourself just because you can’t do this one thing.”</p>
<p>“Thanks, Sokka.”</p>
<p>“Although, if anyone was able to figure out how to fix bones with water magic, it would definitely be you.” Katara gave him a small smile. “I don’t think I’ve ever had anyone try so hard to heal me before.”</p>
<p>“Stop getting hurt and we won’t have to.”</p>
<p>“How you wound me, my dear sister.” He rose from his seat and hopped over to one of the mats and, in true Sokka fashion, ungracefully plopped down. Also in true Sokka fashion, the action sent a jolt of pain through his left leg. He couldn’t hide the grimace that washed over his face.</p>
<p>“Keep jostling your leg and I really will wound you,” Katara said with no hint of joking in her voice. Sokka merely held his hands up in surrender. “Try to get some rest. The others will be back tonight.”</p>
<p>“But I’m not tired~”</p>
<p>Katara sent a glare his way. That was all the warning he needed to stay down.</p>
<p>Sokka didn’t tell her, but he was actually exhausted. The past two weeks had consisted of many sleepless nights, the pain in his leg keeping him up far later than he wished to be.</p>
<p>Whenever he finally managed to fall asleep, however, his nightmares made sure he would wake up soon after. </p>
<p>Every morning he convinced himself that they would eventually go away, that everything would be back to normal soon. Until then, he would just deal with the sleepless nights. The others had so much on their plates already, it wouldn’t be right to bother them with his silly nightmares. </p>
<p>Sokka’s exhaustion got the best of him, though. As soon as Katara left the room, his eyes drifted shut.</p><hr/>
<p>Sokka was a bit surprised to find that it was dark outside when he woke back up. He wouldn’t complain though; he actually felt fairly rested for once. </p>
<p>He was also surprised to hear multiple voices in the other room. </p>
<p>
  <em>Katara did say the others should be back tonight.</em>
</p>
<p>Sokka was about to drag himself from the ground to hop over the where his crutch was leaned against the wall, only to find it placed on the ground next to him. Sending a silent thanks to his sister, he grabbed the crutch and got up as carefully as he could.</p>
<p>Had anyone heard him, he would have denied his grunts of pain and exertion. </p>
<p>Aang and Toph were chattering away about who knows what while Katara and Suki were concentrating on a game of Pai Sho. (Sokka didn’t even have to look at the board to know that Katara was losing). </p>
<p>Toph noticed that he had woken up before anyone else, her ears picking up the tapping of his crutch against the wooden floor.</p>
<p>“Nice of you to come back to the land of the living, Snoozles.”</p>
<p>Sokka yawned before answering. “You know me, gotta get my beauty sleep.”</p>
<p>“In that case, you should go back to bed,” his sister quickly added. Of course, everyone laughed at the comment. </p>
<p>“Ha ha, hilarious.” They might’ve taken him seriously, had Sokka not been smiling. He hobbled his way over to the Pai Sho table, pulling up a chair next to Suki. The two shared a quick kiss.</p>
<p>“And you say me and Katara are gross,” Aang said.</p>
<p>“Hey, I have the right to be grossed out by you two. Katara’s my little sister, and you two are so oogie.” </p>
<p>“Still going with ‘oogie,’ huh?” Katara asked. Sokka only offered a shrug.</p>
<p>“Haven’t thought of a better word. It completely describes the feeling I get when I see you two...uh, ya know.” Sokka rubbed the back of his neck. He knew Katara was 14, but it was still...weird to him. </p>
<p>A few minutes of comfortable silence passed with the group, Aang and Toph continuing their conversation on one side of the room while the other two girls engaged back in their battle. Sokka watched intently, analyzing their every move. He had attempted to interject a few times on what move they should make but had been promptly cut off every time. They insisted they didn’t need any suggestions. </p>
<p>Sokka disagreed but left them to it. </p>
<p>The game ended, however, with the arrival of three more people. </p>
<p>Sokka couldn’t hide his grin when he saw the look on Zuko’s face. He was clearly frustrated with yet another day of council meetings with the Earth Kingdom officials.</p>
<p>King Kuei was back on the throne, but his years of being told what to do was proving to be difficult to work with. Despite being king of the entire Earth Kingdom, he wasn’t the most experienced when it came to foreign affairs. As such, Zuko returned every day frustrated and tired.</p>
<p>He plopped down into a chair as soon as he entered the house. Iroh and Hakoda followed not too far behind. They were clearly tired as well, although they were still engaged in a friendly conversation as they entered. </p>
<p>“You good there, buddy?” Sokka asked when he noticed Zuko was now lying face down on the table.</p>
<p>He only got a grunt in response.</p>
<p>“Yeah, that’s what I figured.”</p>
<p>“How’d the meeting go, dad?” Katara had apparently abandoned the Pai Sho game, most likely to save herself from the imminent loss.</p>
<p>“About as well as you can expect,” Hakoda responded. He looked exhausted.</p>
<p>“There is quite a lot of work to be done in repairing the relationships between the four nations. 100 years is a long time, and despite the war being won, there are still many tensions that must be resolved,” Iroh added.</p>
<p>As nice as it would’ve been, winning the war hadn’t automatically made everything perfect. There were still a fair share of Ozai supporters, as well as hatred of the Fire Nation as a whole within the other nations. </p>
<p>Zuko and Iroh ended up retiring to bed early. They had another full day of meetings the next day. The others could honestly say that they did not envy them. </p>
<p>Sokka didn’t realize he had started dozing until he felt a gentle hand shake his shoulder. When he opened his eyes, he found that only himself, his dad, Suki and Toph remained in the room. His dad waited for his son’s eyes to meet his before speaking.</p>
<p>“Long day?”</p>
<p>Sokka shrugged. He had slept for hours yet he still felt drained. His aching leg was already telling him that he wouldn’t be sleeping much tonight.</p>
<p>“I guess. I’m tired of being cooped up in the house all day.” </p>
<p>“I know, but it’s only been 2 weeks. It’s going to take a long time for you to heal and being out this soon is only risking a longer recovery time.” </p>
<p>Sokka hated that his dad was right.</p>
<p>“I know it’s soon, but I’ll be returning to the village tomorrow morning,” Hakoda continued. “Bato and the rest of the men are already on their way back. They’ll be expecting me.”</p>
<p>“How long will you be gone?”</p>
<p>“I’m not sure yet. I know I’ll have to return here eventually, but my duty still belongs to the tribe.”</p>
<p>“The tribe has gone a long time without a chief,” Sokka said.</p>
<p>“It has.” Hakoda offered his son a smile before continuing. “But I know I left it in good hands.”</p>
<p>Before Sokka could stop himself, he was reaching out to embrace his father in a hug. He knew he probably looked like a child, but he didn’t much care. He had two years’ worth of hugs to catch up on, after all.</p>
<p>“I’m gonna miss you, dad.” Sokka ignored the fact that his voice wavered.</p>
<p>“I’ll miss you too, son. I promise I’ll be back.”</p>
<p>Hakoda helped Sokka to his feet, allowing his son to lean his weight on him as he led the boy back to his room. </p>
<p>While Hakoda was eager to return home after two long years, he couldn’t help but feel guilty that he was once again leaving his two children. However, he thought about how much they had grown over the past two years: his son, planning an entire invasion and taking down an air fleet, his daughter, master waterbender and the Avatar’s waterbending teacher.</p>
<p>As much as he hated to leave, he knew they would be okay.</p>
<p>“Goodnight, Sokka.”</p>
<p>“Night, dad.”</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. A Visit From the King</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Time for chapter 2! I enjoyed writing this chapter. I felt like I was able to flow a bit better, but I'm still trying to work past my nervousness lol. Stuff picks up a bit in this chapter, but there's a whole lot coming! Hope you enjoy!</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>When his dad had left, Sokka knew he was going to have a bad day.</p>
<p>His suspicions were soon confirmed when he was approached by Suki. He immediately caught the look on her face.</p>
<p>“Don’t say it,” he said, rubbing his thumb and index fingers against the bridge of his nose.</p>
<p>“I’m sorry. I should’ve told you sooner, but it didn’t feel right to tell you last night after your dad had told you he was leaving.”</p>
<p>“How long do you think you’ll be gone?”</p>
<p>“To be honest, I’m not sure. I’d like to tell you it’ll only be a few weeks, but I don’t know. With how long I’ve been gone, I know there’s a lot of work to be done. For one, there’s new warriors to train, and I’m not completely sure I trust some of my current girls to do that by themselves.”</p>
<p>“It’s selfish of me, but I wish you could stay,” Sokka said dejectedly. Suki wrapped her arms around him, placing a loving kiss on his forehead.</p>
<p>“I want to stay, too. But I have duties on Kyoshi Island,” she said. “I can promise you one thing, though. I will come back for you.”</p>
<p>Sokka smiled and gave her his own kiss. “You always do.”</p>
<p>The couple spent the next hour together, Sokka sitting in her room as she packed her things. Once she had everything ready, she placed her things atop the ostrich-horse she had gotten for the journey home. The two bid each other farewell, Sokka watching as Suki rode off into the distance.</p>
<p>He wondered if anyone else would be leaving him soon.</p>
<p>Going back into the house, Sokka unceremoniously plopped into a chair, not caring to do much at the moment. </p>
<p>“How’re you doing?” Katara called from the opposite end of the room. A grunt was her only response. </p>
<p>Katara, Aang, and Toph, who still remained in the house, hadn’t planned on doing much that day. That is, until an unexpected visitor decided to stop by.</p>
<p>A knock at the door caught everyone’s attention.</p>
<p>Aang, after sharing a glance with everyone, stood to open the door. He was quite shocked to find King Kuei, along with some of his guards, standing on the other side of the door. The Earth King bowed to Aang.</p>
<p>“Greetings, Avatar. I apologize for stopping by with no formal warning.”</p>
<p>“It’s no problem, King Kuei. You didn’t have to come all the way here, though. I would’ve been happy to visit the palace.” Aang stepped aside to allow Kuei inside the house. His guards stayed positioned outside the door.</p>
<p>“True, but I wanted to speak to everyone about this.”</p>
<p>“What can we do for you, King Kuei?” Katara asked as the king took a seat in front of them at the table.</p>
<p>“I’ve unfortunately got a bit of bad news. I hadn’t wished to involve you so soon, but my generals were adamant that they needed assistance, and to be quite honest, I couldn’t think of anyone more qualified than you all.</p>
<p>“While I was kept in the dark about many things during the war, there was one thing that everyone within the palace walls knew about. For about 15 years now, Ba Sing Se, as well as a few other Earth Kingdom cities, have been experiencing many kidnappings. While we know that kidnappings are something that happen in every city, the ones here are always…strange. They are very coordinated, you could say.”</p>
<p>“What exactly do you mean by coordinated?” Sokka asked. </p>
<p>“They are coordinated because in the past 15 years, not a single one of the kidnappings have been witnessed.”</p>
<p>That was strange indeed.</p>
<p>“How is that possible? In a city this big, there should’ve been at least one witness in that many years!” Aang said. The Earth King nodded.</p>
<p>“That’s exactly my point. Either these kidnappings are planned to account for any possible thing that could go wrong, or there are witnesses who are lying or who haven’t stepped forward.”</p>
<p>The kids took a moment to think before anyone said anything else.</p>
<p>“The kidnappings are most likely planned, in that case. There’s no way that 15 years’ worth of kidnappings haven’t been witnessed by coincidence. These are deliberately taking place,” Sokka suddenly said.</p>
<p>“That’s also what my officials think.”</p>
<p>“I’m guessing you’d like our help in solving these kidnappings,” Aang said. The Earth King nodded again, though he looked a bit ashamed.</p>
<p>“Yes. I didn’t wish to ask so soon after the war ended, but we’re getting worried. We have no leads,” Kuei said. “However, we did recently figure something out, although we can’t figure out the reasoning just yet.</p>
<p>“The kidnappings originally started 15 years ago. However, after 10 years, they completely stopped. Not only in Ba Sing Se, but in all the cities that had been reporting kidnappings in the Earth Kingdom.”</p>
<p>“So the kidnappings haven’t been happening for 5 years? If they aren’t happening anymore, why not wait to solve them until after the tension between the nations have lessened? That seems like a more prominent issue,” Sokka asked.</p>
<p>“Because,” Kuei interjected. “Two weeks ago, immediately following the defeat of Firelord Ozai, the kidnappings started again.”</p>
<p>“Oh.” Sokka didn’t offer anything beyond that.</p>
<p>“I’ve brought a list of the families who have been affected in the most recent kidnappings, as well as a few who were affected before the sudden stop. Maybe you will be able to find something we missed.”</p>
<p>“Are there any links between the victims?” Katara asked.</p>
<p>“None that we are currently aware of.”</p>
<p>“We will get started as soon as possible. We’ll do our best to find some answers,” Aang said.</p>
<p>“Thank you. I apologize again for having to involve you.” Kuei stood from his seat and made his way back to the door. Aang and Katara saw him out, leaving Sokka and Toph alone for a moment.</p>
<p>“So, what do you think?” Toph asked. Sokka stared at her for a second.</p>
<p>“What do you mean?”</p>
<p>“I mean what I said, Meathead. You’re always calling yourself a master detective. You got any ideas?”</p>
<p>Sokka hummed. “Well, I won’t know too much until we actually go and talk to these families. From what King Kuei said, though, what I can tell is that there’s gotta be some sort of organization behind the kidnappings. There’s no way there can be that many coordinated kidnappings and there not be some sort of link. And to have no witnesses? There’s some serious planning going on.”</p>
<p>Toph yawned, stretching out her arms and legs. “Well, I for one am ready for some action. Let’s hope we find these guys soon so we can knock some sense into them.” </p>
<p>Aang and Katara were soon back inside the house, both reading the list that the king had previously given them. </p>
<p>“I think we should start with one of the families from 5 years ago and work our way to the more recent ones. There’s one actually not too far from here in the outer ring of the city,” Aang said. </p>
<p>“Sounds like a plan. Let’s get going,” Sokka said, reaching for his crutch and standing from his seat. He was quickly pushed back into his seat by his sister. “Um, Katara, I thought we were heading out.”</p>
<p>“We are. <em>You </em>are staying here,” she said. </p>
<p>“I don’t think so. We need to figure out what’s going on with these kidnappings, and I intend to help.”</p>
<p>“Did you already forget what dad told you, what I’ve told you since we first got back to Ba Sing Se? You’re still healing, Sokka. You can hardly walk around the garden without running out of breath, how are you supposed to walk around the city? It’s too risky for you to be moving around right now if you ever want to get better.” </p>
<p>“Because, Katara, King Kuei asked for our help. You really want me to sit back and do nothing while people are being kidnapped in the same city as us?” </p>
<p>Katara was about to respond when Aang spoke up. “Actually, I think Katara is right, Sokka. As helpful as you would be, you <em>are </em>still healing. I know how much you want to help, but I think it would be better if you stayed here for a while.”</p>
<p>Sokka was at a loss for words. He thought they would like for him to come along. They were the ones who kept calling him the Idea Guy, after all. Did they just no longer need his help now that they weren’t planning battles and invasions every day?</p>
<p>“Fine.” He would’ve liked to push the subject more, but he didn’t feel up for arguing.</p>
<p>Katara and Aang looked at each other for a moment before turning to leave. Sokka was surprised, however, when he saw Toph still in the room.</p>
<p>“Aren’t you going?” he asked. </p>
<p>“Eh, I’ll meet up with them later,” she said as she sat back down in her seat next to Sokka. He was shocked. Just moments before, she had been talking about how she wanted to knock some sense into some people, and now she was willingly staying behind while Aang and Katara went out to investigate.</p>
<p>“Thanks, Toph.”</p>
<p>“Don’t mention it, Snoozles. I know I wouldn’t wanna be cooped up here the whole day by myself.”</p>
<p>“Luckily for you, you get to spend the day in the presence of yours truly,” Sokka said, propping his arms behind his head.</p>
<p>“Yeah, lucky me.”</p><hr/>
<p>Aang and Katara checked their list once more to make sure they had the correct location before heading out towards the first house. It wasn’t too far from their Ba Sing Se accommodations, only about a twenty-minute walk, fifteen if they went quickly.</p>
<p>“This first family is just a husband and wife. Apparently, the wife’s sister is the one who was taken. She had been staying with them at the time,” Katara said as she read the information. “Hopefully they’ll be able to tell us more when we get there.”</p>
<p>Aang nodded, his staff hanging limply from his left hand. He’d been listening to what Katara was saying, but his mind was in other places.</p>
<p>“Something wrong?”</p>
<p>“I’m just thinking about what Sokka said back at the house,” Aang began. “Some of these kidnappings have been happening while we’ve been here. What if we could’ve stopped them?”</p>
<p>Katara placed a hand gently on his shoulder.</p>
<p>“We’re going to figure this out and help whoever has been affected. And don’t blame yourself for this. These kidnappings had been happening for years before you woke up, and even the Earth Kingdom officials haven’t been able to figure it out.”</p>
<p>“I guess you’re right. Thanks, Katara.” Aang smiled. “I just want to help these people.”</p>
<p>“I know, Aang. I do too.”</p>
<p>The couple apparently got lost in their thoughts after their talk, because before they knew it, they were standing before the house.</p>
<p>Sharing a quick glance, the two walked up to the door and knocked. As they waited for the door to open, they noticed how different this house was from their own. It was in the lower ring of the city, and like the other houses in this area, it was significantly run down and shabby, nowhere near the pristine house that Team Avatar had been given.</p>
<p>The door opened, revealing a man who looked to be in his late forties. His eyes widened when he noticed who was standing before him. He quickly bent down into a bow.</p>
<p>“Avatar Aang! It’s an honor to meet you,” the man quickly said. Aang put a hand on his shoulder and ushered the man back into a standing position.</p>
<p>“There’s no need for that, sir. I apologize for stopping by so suddenly,” Aang offered with a kind smile.</p>
<p>“Please, come in,” the man said as he opened the door wider, allowing the pair to enter his house.</p>
<p>“I know I’ve already said it, but it truly is an honor to meet the Avatar. As well as a waterbending master,” he said, bowing his head to Katara. She returned the gesture. “Oh, my apologies, I never introduced myself. My name is Feo.”</p>
<p>“Nice to meet you, Feo. Is your wife home?” Aang asked. Feo nodded, although they didn’t miss the sad look on his face.</p>
<p>“She is. She hasn’t been feeling too well, recently. Thank the spirits for the doctors, though. Her medicine has been slowly helping her regain her strength.”</p>
<p>“I’m so sorry to hear that, Feo. I could take a look at her, if she’d like.” Katara, as always, was quick to offer aid. Aang couldn’t stop the goofy grin that grew on his face.</p>
<p>“I appreciate the offer, Katara,” Feo said as he led them to a different room, presumably where his wife was. “But all she needs now is some rest.”</p>
<p>When Feo stopped in front of a room on the opposite end of the house, he quickly tapped his knuckles against the door to let his wife know he was entering. Aang and Katara heard a faint “come in” before Feo opened the door.</p>
<p>His wife was indeed sick, if her pale face and glossy eyes were any indication, but based on Feo’s words, it seemed that she had been worse before.</p>
<p>“Darling, the Avatar and one of his companions are here,” Feo said as he sat next to his wife. </p>
<p>“It’s a pleasure,” the lady said with a smile. She seemed to be about the same age as Feo, perhaps a year or two younger. </p>
<p>“I’m so sorry that you’ve had to deal with a sickness recently. I already offered to your husband, but I can try to heal you if you’d like,” Katara offered again. The woman merely shook her head.</p>
<p>“That won’t be necessary,” was all the lady offered. Katara decided not to push it anymore. “My name is Nati. What can we do for you two?”</p>
<p>Aang decided to lead the conversation. “I’m sorry to have to bring this up, but it’s very important for an investigation the Earth King has asked us to lead. We need to ask some questions about your sister.”</p>
<p>The couple visibly tensed at Aang’s words but didn’t give any indication for him to not continue.</p>
<p>“We know it must be a difficult topic, so if you need to stop at any point, just let us know,” Katara added.</p>
<p>“It’s about the other kidnappings too, isn’t it?” Nati asked. The younger pair both nodded sadly. “Ask away. We will answer whatever we can. Anything to stop whoever is behind this. No more families need to suffer.” Feo gently placed his hand atop his wife’s.</p>
<p>“Thank you. Again, if you need to stop, just let us know,” Aang said. “Let’s begin, I suppose. How long ago was it that she disappeared?”</p>
<p>“If I recall correctly, it was about 8 years ago. She had been staying with us for about a year at that point,” Feo said. His wife continued for him.</p>
<p>“She had started staying with us because the Fire Nation had taken the rest of her family,” she said. “It’s a shame what the Fire Nation used to do to earthbenders.” </p>
<p>Katara shuddered at the thought of Haru’s father.</p>
<p>“When did you realize she had gone missing?” Aang asked.</p>
<p>“She had left the house shortly after we had eaten breakfast. She’d volunteered to go to the shops for us that day, as we were running short on food,” Nati explained. “Feo and I both had work that needed to be attended to, so we agreed to let her go. She promised to be back before sundown.”</p>
<p>“I’m assuming she never returned,” Katara said sadly.</p>
<p>“No, she never did.” </p>
<p>“When you reported it, who did you tell?” Aang asked.</p>
<p>“We reported it at the Officer’s Guild. They function as Ba Sing Se’s security, so to speak.”</p>
<p>“Does this Officer’s Guild have any sort of connection to the Dai Li?” Katara suddenly asked.</p>
<p>Feo shook his head, a bit caught off guard by her question. “None that we are aware of. The Dai Li functioned separately from the Officer’s Guild. They didn’t care much about the citizens, but the Officer’s Guild did,” he said. “That’s where all the kidnappings were reported, I believe.”</p>
<p>They continued for about another hour or so, Aang or Katara asking a question, with the older man and woman answering to their best ability. Nati eventually grew tired, however, so they decided that would be enough. </p>
<p>Aang and Katara had, unfortunately, gotten nowhere in their investigation. </p>
<p>“We appreciate you taking the time to answer our questions. Seriously. We know it must’ve been hard to have to think about,” Katara said as they were led out of the bedroom.</p>
<p>“We’re willing to do anything to help prevent others from going through what we did,” Feo said. Despite the clear sadness written on his face, he was sincere in his words.</p>
<p>“Thank you for your time, Feo. We’re going to do everything we can to get to the bottom of this.” Aang offered his hand to the older man, who quickly offered his own. As the young couple opened the door to leave, Katara quickly turned around.</p>
<p>“Wait!” Feo turned, thinking something was wrong. “What was her name?”</p>
<p>Feo simply smiled. “Her name was Ryu.”</p><hr/>
<p>“Argh, I feel so bad!” Aang groaned as they started walking back home. “We made them go through so much by asking them those questions about the kidnapping and we didn’t even make any progress.”</p>
<p>Katara was frustrated too, but she knew they had to stay positive. “I know, I’m upset about it too. We just have to hope that the next visit will give us more answers.” </p>
<p>Aang didn’t respond, but he knew she was right. They couldn’t do anything about it, but they had to stay hopeful.</p>
<p>“Let’s get back home.”</p><hr/>
<p>Zuko was seconds away from standing up and leaving when the large, ornate doors to the meeting chamber opened, revealing a grinning King Kuei.</p>
<p>“My apologies for the wait,” was all the man said. Zuko was, for lack of a better word, pissed.</p>
<p>“The meeting was scheduled to begin an hour ago, King Kuei,” Zuko shot out, frustration clear on his face.</p>
<p>“Yes, my apologies, Firelord Zuko. I hadn’t intended to be late, but I had something to attend to,” Kuei simply replied.</p>
<p>“And what was this important matter that needed attending to?” Iroh shot his nephew a warning glare as Zuko prodded the Earth King, but Zuko ignored it.</p>
<p>“Something I would quite like to not discuss in front of everyone present. You, however, I’m sure will hear about it soon.”</p>
<p>‘He went to see Aang, then,’ Zuko thought. What did he need to tell Aang that he didn’t want to discuss here? Something that didn’t pertain to the peace treaties, it seemed.</p>
<p>“Very well. Shall we begin?”</p>
<p>“Certainly,” the king replied. “Let us pick up where we ended yesterday.”</p>
<p>Zuko didn’t even attempt to stop his groan.</p><hr/>
<p>Sokka sighed as he finished his fourth moonpeach. Aang and Katara had been gone most of the day, his dad and Suki had both left to return to their homes, Zuko and Iroh had meetings to attend, and Toph had left about an hour ago to do...well, she hadn’t said, but she said she had to do <em>something</em>, so Sokka didn’t push it much.</p>
<p>So now he was alone in the house.</p>
<p>And man, was he bored.</p>
<p>Sokka had done just about everything he could think of to occupy himself. He had doodled, written poems, eaten (although, he would’ve been doing that anyways), tried to convince Momo to play Pai Sho with him, practiced with his new Boomerang, and even cleaned up some of the mess that had been left behind from the previous night. And if there was one thing anyone knew about Sokka, it was that he had to be extremely bored to willingly clean up. </p>
<p>Glancing outside, he could tell the sun wasn’t quite setting yet, but it wasn’t too far from it. He desperately wanted to sleep, but sleeping right now would ruin any chance he had at sleeping tonight. But he hadn’t slept the night before, so the day had left him exhausted.</p>
<p>His mind was currently mulling over the two options: sleep now and don’t sleep later, or tough it out until nighttime. Before he could get far into the debate with himself, something caught his attention.</p>
<p>Growing up in the Southern Water Tribe, Sokka had been taught everything he needed to know to be a proficient hunter. With not much vegetation around, hunting had been the main source of food. As such, Sokka had many instincts that those who had not grown up in the Water Tribes lacked. One of these skills being his keen perception.</p>
<p>Sokka not only heard, but also saw one of the bushes outside the house shuffle and move. This was not odd, save for one small detail: there was no wind.</p>
<p>The warrior’s mind was on alert instantly. If there was an intruder, he needed to be ready to defend himself however he could. As much as he hated to admit it, he wasn’t exactly in pristine fighting condition. Clutching his Boomerang in his left hand, Sokka waited.</p>
<p>He was about to throw the weapon when a small bird leapt from the bush. </p>
<p>Sokka let out a breath he hadn’t realized he’d been holding. Maybe he was just on edge after being on the run for so long. It felt strange to him to not have to be alert all of the time. </p>
<p>He decided at that moment that maybe it would be better if he got some sleep. </p>
<p>As he laid down on one of the mats in the far corner of the common space and drifted to sleep, Sokka missed the bushes rustling yet again.</p><hr/>
<p>Aang and Katara were slightly surprised to find the house quiet when they returned. When Toph and Sokka were involved, it usually meant everything except quiet.</p>
<p>Their question was answered when they found Sokka alone and asleep, if his soft snores were any indication.</p>
<p>“I figured Toph would’ve stayed until we got back,” Aang said. Katara shrugged. Toph did a lot of things that no one really had an answer for, and the earthbender never offered one.</p>
<p>Katara made her way over to her brother, kneeling next to him. Aang eventually joined her, sitting next to her quietly. Taking some water from her pouch, Katara bent some water over her hands, the water gloves quickly taking a soft glow. She placed the healing hands over Sokka’s left leg. He winced slightly, tensing under her touch, but didn’t wake. </p>
<p>“What’s it look like?” Aang asked. Despite being proficient with waterbending, he hadn’t yet learned to heal. </p>
<p>“It’s a bad break. His leg is broken in three different places,” she said as she pointed to the locations of the three breaks. One right below the knee, another about halfway down, and one on the ankle. “He still hasn’t really told me what happened. Just that he fell off one airship and landed wrong. I know there’s something he’s not telling me. Toph too.” </p>
<p>Katara’s suspicions were confirmed when she noticed her brother’s knit eyebrows, soft murmuring, and twitching hands. He was having a nightmare. There was something about the day of Sozin’s Comet that he hadn’t told her yet, but she intended to find out.</p>
<p>She lightly tapped Sokka’s shoulder, not wanting to wake him too suddenly. </p>
<p>“Sokka,” she said gently. His eyes eventually fluttered open, a yawn forcing its way from his throat. </p>
<p>“Hmm, mornin’,” he said groggily, stretching his arms out to his side. Katara chuckled.</p>
<p>“Not quite. It’s only about an hour after sunset.” Sokka seemed confused for a moment, but quickly seemed to gain his composure.</p>
<p>“Oh.”</p>
<p>He slowly sat up, only at that point noticing that Aang was also present.</p>
<p>“So, uh, how’d it go?” he asked. “The investigation thing.”</p>
<p>Aang and Katara both seemed reluctant to answer, both remembering the altercation that had occurred right before they left. Sokka seemed to have forgotten, at least for the moment while in his half-awake stupor.</p>
<p>“Not as well as we’d hoped. They just didn’t have the information we needed to figure anything out,” Aang said, clearly disappointed. “We’re going to another house tomorrow. Hopefully, we’ll get more answers.”</p>
<p>Sokka nodded. He sighed internally at the thought of being left alone in the house for a whole day again. Although Toph had been good company while she was there, Sokka’s day had quickly declined after she had left him completely alone. </p>
<p>He wouldn’t admit it to himself, but Sokka was quickly despising the mere thought of being alone. </p>
<p>“Anyone else here?” Sokka asked. Katara shrugged, but Aang offered an answer.</p>
<p>“I checked the rooms before I came over here. Toph is back, but she asked to be left alone.”</p>
<p>“She might be tired. She left earlier today, but I don’t know what she did while she was gone.” Sokka didn’t mention that she didn’t want to talk about what had happened yet, either. There was a reason she had wanted to be alone more often.</p>
<p>“Zuko and Iroh also sent a message. Said they’d be staying in the Earth Palace tonight,” Aang continued as he handed Sokka the scroll that had contained Zuko’s message. Sokka laughed as he read it.</p>
<p>“You can literally see Zuko’s vein popping out of his head in this message. Must’ve been a rough day.” Sokka began to stand from his sleeping mat but was quickly assisted by both Katara and Aang. They released their hold once he’d gotten his crutch, though.</p>
<p>“You heading to bed?” Katara asked. She silently hoped he was. She could tell he needed the sleep. Katara thought to herself that she would have to have a talk with Sokka soon about his nightmares. He most likely wouldn’t talk about it on his own. He’d have to be approached about them. </p>
<p>“I know you’ve missed my company, but yeah,” he replied. “You two should get some rest, too. You look tired.” With that, he hopped away to his room, his crutch lightly tapping the wooden floors.</p>
  </div><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_foot_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
          <p>See y'all next chapter!</p>
        </blockquote><b>Author's Note:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>ahhh I'm so nervous to post this but I'm so excited to write this story. I've had the idea ever since I finished the series. I'm determined to make it to the end.</p><p>Also this first chapter is probably mega awkward lol. I struggle the most with first chapters for whatever reason, but I hope you enjoyed!</p></blockquote></div></div>
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